Engine starter drive



Sept 6, 1949- P. 1.. SCHNEIDER ET AL ENGINE STARTER DRIVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 29, 1948 p 1949- P. L. SCHNEIDER ET AL 2,481,249

ENGINE STARTER DRIVE Filed April 29, 1948 2 SheetsSheet 2 BY 06 i 777 M W% Patented Sept. 6, 1949 2,481,249 ENGINE STARTER DRIVE Paul L. Schneider and Dennis W. Nighbert, An-

derson, poration, ware Ind., assignors to General Motors Cor- Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Dela- Application April 29, 1948, Serial No. 24,026

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to apparatus for start- 1 ing an internal combustion engine.

An object of the invention is to provide a starter drive for an electrical engine starter of the inboard type meaning one which comprises an electric motor whose field frame is located on one side of the fly wheel gear and whose starter drive is located on the other side of the gear. In the disclosed embodiment of the present invention this object is accomplished by a starter drive comprising two main sub-assemblies namely, a one way or over-running clutch connected with the end of the armature shaft remote from the fly-wheel housing and a pinion and pinion shifter assembly having a longitudinally splined connection with the clutch assem- Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein preferred embodiments of the present invention are clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the engine starter with its frame parts broken away in order to show the entire side .of the starter drive.

Fig. 2 is a view in the direction of arrow 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views taken respectively on lines 4-4 and 5--5 of Fig. 3.

Referring to Fig. 3 there is a fly wheel gear housing 26 enclosing the fly wheel gear 2| represented by dot-dash lines also in Fig. 1. The housing 26 has a bored hole 22 which receives the annular flange 23 of a plate 24 which is fastened to the housing by screws (not shown) which pass through holes 25 shown in Fig. 2. The plate 24 supports a motor end frame 26 (Fig. 3) located with respect to the plate 24 by dowel pins 21 and secured thereto by screws 28. The end frame 26 supports the motor field frame 36 and it in turn supports an end frame 3| (Fig. 1). The frames 26 and 3| provide bearings for an armature shaft 32. The shaft bearings in frame 26 are indicated at 33 in Fig. 3. The shaft 32 supports an armature 34. The field windings are not shown, but it will be understood that the motor is a series motor having one terminal grounded and the other connectible with a grounded current source such as a storage battery through a switch 35 (Fig. 1) which is closed by movement of its operating plunger 36 from the normal position to a switch closing position 36' against the action of a spring 31. The plate 2 24 supports a pivot pin 46 providing fulcrum for a lever 4| which can be moved from the full line position shown to the dot-dash line position 4| by the car driver who operates a pedal rod, not shown, connected with the lever 4| in any suitable manner.

The starter drive comprises two sub-assemblies namely a clutch sub-assembly and a pinion and shifter sub-assembly. The clutch sub-assembly comprises a driving clutch member 42 and a driven clutch member 43. Member 42 is provided with notches 44 each receiving a roller 45 contacted by a plunger 46 urged by a spring 41 in the direction to urge the roller 45 into the narrowest part of the notch 44. As viewed in Fig. 4, the driving member 42 rotates clockwise and motion is transmitted through the rollers 45 through the driven member 43. When the driven member 43 is rotated by the engine, when selfoperative, faster than the member 42 is rotated by the motor then the clutch overruns, that is, the member 43 rotates without driving the member 42. A-bearing sleeve 48 is pressed into the member 43 and has a running fit with the shaft 32. Member 43 is brazed to a tube 49 having internal longitudinal splines 56 (Fig. 5) for making connection with a pinion assembly to be described. The driving member 42 is connected with the shaft 32 by a plate 5| to which the member 42 is attached by staking at 52. Plate 5| has a hole provided with fiat parallel sides which receive flat surfaces 53 provided on the end of the shaft 32. The plate 5| is retained against diametrically opposite shoulders 54 of the shaft 32 by a snap ring 55 received by a groove 56 at the end of the shaft 32.

A pinion 60 having a press fitted bearing bushing 6| is brazed at 62 to a tube 63 having a press fitted bearing bushing 64 and provided with external longitudinal splines 65 which interengage the internal splines 50 of the tube 49. Between the left ends of the pinion teeth (Fig. 3) and the right end of the portion of the tube 63 there are located a washer 66 and the internal flange 61 of a tube 68 which is slidable over the tube 49 and has an external flange 69. The parts 66, 66, 61 and 63 are assembled as shown before brazing parts 66 and 63 together. After this assembly has been brazed together, a sleeve 16 having an external flange H is passed over the tube 68 into the position shown and then a washer 12, a spring 13, and a washer 14 are assembled, said washer 14 having an internal diameter slightly greater than the external diameter of the washer 66. The parts just described are retained by a resilient wire snap ring II which fits into an annular groove which is between the washer it and the curved right end portion of the flange I of tube 68. In order to assemble the snap ring II, it is necessary to compress the spring 13. Therefore, when the snap ring 15 has been assembled, the spring 13 will be maintained under compression thereby urging the sleeve Ill toward the flange 69 of the tube 6'.

The space between the flanges 6! and H provides an annular groove for receiving diametrically opposite studs 16 attached respectively to the lever 4i and to a shorter lever 11 which is supported by the pivot screw 40 and is welded to lever I at II and 18 (Fig. 2).

The two sub-assemblies, that is, the pinion subassembly and clutch sub-assembly, are assembled together and are slid onto the shaft 32 and the snap ring 55 is assembled. The starter drive is normally retained against the snap ring by a suitable spring such as spring 80 (Fig. 1) connected with lever 4i and with a stationary part and operative to urge the lever 4| clockwise and to urge the flange 69 right in Fig. 1 or left in Fig. 3 thereby urging the pinion and clutch assemblies toward the left Fig. 3.

The. engine is started by moving the lever counterclockwise in Fig. 1 against the action of the spring 80 in order to shift the starter drive toward the left in Fig. 1 or toward the right in Fig. 3 to cause the pinion S to mesh with the fly wheel gear 2| and to close the switch 35 by moving its plunger from position 36 to position 36.

If the teeth of the pinion 60 should abut the ends of the teeth of the flY-wheel gear 2| before going into mesh, motion of the lever 4i counterclockwise (Fig. 1)... can continue in order to close the switch 35. During this continued movement the collar .1! movesleft in Fig. 1 or right in Fig. 3 to.compress the spring. 13 further. When the switch 35 is closed and the motor shaft 32 starts to rotate, the teeth of the pinion will be brought into. registrywith the tooth spaces of the flywheel gear 2! whereupon the spring is released quickly to. move the pinion into mesh with the flywheel gear. Whenthe engine becomes self-operative and before the driver can release the starter pedal connected with lever H, the clutch will over-run because. no motion is transmitted between the clutch members when the driven member 43 is being rotated by the engine faster than the member 42 is being rotated by .the starting motor.

.While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed. constitutes a preferred form,

it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. An engine starter drive for mounting upon a starting motor shaft and comprising an overrunning clutch having a driving shell adapted for attachment to the starting motor shaft and having roller receiving pockets and having a driven cylinder adapted to be supported by the shaft, and having rollers in said pockets for transmitting motion in one direction from the shell to the cylinder, a pinion slidable on said shaft intc mesh with a gear of the engine to be started, a flrst sleeve attached to the pinion and provided with external, longitudinal splines, a second sleeve attached to the driven cylinder and having internal splines engaging the external splines of the first sleeve. a third sleeve surrounding the other sleeves and attached to the pinion and having an external annular flange located adjacent to the clutch, a collar surrounding the third sleeve and having an external annular flange spaced from the flange of the third sleeve, the space between the external flanges receiving a shifting element, a spring surrounding the third sleeve and engaging the collar and means for transmitting pressure from the spring to the pinion.

2. An engine starter drive for mounting upon a starting motor shaft and comprising an overrunning clutch having a driving member adapted for attachment to the shaft and a driven member adapted to be supported by the shaft, a pinion mounted on the shaft and adapted to move thereon into mesh with a gear of the engine to be started, parts connected respectively with the driven clutch member and the pinion and having longitudinal splines connecting them together so that the pinion remains connected with the driven clutch member while the pinion moves into or out of mesh with the engine gear, a sleeve surrounding said parts and connected with the pinion and having an external annular flange located adjacent to the clutch, a collar surrounding the sleeve and having an external annular flange spaced from the flange of the sleeve, the space between the external flanges receiving a shifting element, a spring surrounding the sleeve and engaging the collar and means transmitting pressure from the spring to the pinion.

PAUL L. SCHNEIDER. DENNIS W. NIGHBERT.

No references cited. 

